Samsung 860 QVO: Cheap, high-capacity SSDs aimed at everyday use

Those looking for a cheap SSD offering storage capacities up to 4TB should take a look at the new 860 QVO SSD (note that QVO stands for Quality and Value Optimized), Samsung's latest addition to the highly popular 860 Series lineup of drives.

Built around Samsung's high-density 4-bit multi-level cell (MLC) NAND flash architecture, the 860 QVO SSD comes in 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB capacities. Driving this is Samsung's MJX controller which gives the drive sequential read and write speeds of up to 550 and 520 MB/s, respectively, and random performance of 96,000 IOPS read and 89,000 IOPS write.

This is the sort of performance previously seen on 3-bit MLC SSDs.

Here are the key tech specs for the Samsung 860 QVO SSD:

"Today's consumers are using, producing and storing more high-resolution files than ever, including 4K videos and graphics-intensive games, escalating demand for greater capacities and performance in storage devices," said Dr. Mike Mang, vice president of Brand Product Marketing, Memory Business at Samsung Electronics. "Samsung continues to lead the move toward multi-terabyte SSDs with the introduction of the Samsung 860 QVO, delivering fast performance, reliability, and value to more consumers around the world."

On the warranty front, the 860 QVO comes with a three-year, which, while good, is not as generous as the five-year warranty that the EVO drives come with.

Pricing starts at $149 for the 1TB model, and the 860 QVO will go on sale on December 16, 2018.